Church Lodge, Castle Kennedy

Church Lodge, built in 1867-9 by Brown & Wardrop, is a picturesque gate lodge situated at the main entrance to the Lochinch Heritage Estate. It is a single-story building with three bays, constructed of whinstone with stugged and droved sandstone dressings. The lodge is distinguished by its decorative carved timber bargeboards to the gables and distinctive windows, differentiating it from other estate gate lodges.

The north-west (entrance) elevation features a central, advanced gabled entrance porch with a shouldered surround, a timber door with decorative hinges, and a small square panel to the gablehead. A small window is located in the re-entrant angle to the left, while a single window appears in the recessed bay to the outer left. An advanced canted window is found in the gabled bay to the outer left, with a bipartite window on the main elevation and single windows on the canted sides. The south-west (side) elevation has a bipartite window in the gabled bay to the outer left, and a single window to the outer right. Diamond pattern glazing with margin panes is present throughout the windows, although modern windows are located to the rear. The roof is grey slate, topped with an elongated polygonal central paired ridge stack and circular cans.

The interior of the lodge was not inspected in 1999.

A plaque to the right of the entrance commemorates the reconditioning and modernisation of the lodge in 1954, funded by the tenants on Stair Estates to mark the golden wedding of the Earl and Countess of Stair. The lodge’s setting includes other estate buildings and features, such as Balker Farmhouse, Castle Kennedy, and the Church graveyard, among others. Ordnance Survey maps from 1848 do not show the lodge, but a map from 1896 does.